[FSPA] Scott Sidley

Sat Sep 5 10:42:43 EDT 2020

He was one of the very first people to welcome me into pinball. And while
he seemed...aloof at first, the more I saw him at Carpool - the more I saw
him taking care of these machines - I realized it was because he *cared*
about them in a way that no one else does. He would willingly share
advanced strategies and I don't think anyone in league has taught me more
about how to play or how to love the game. No matter how great a ball was,
there was always room to get better.

But my favorite memory of him was a few years back when I was hosting
record nights at Carpool - a couple of times, he'd bring in a stack of his
old records that he said he hadn't been able to listen to since the '80's.
Usually they were a mix of classics from the time and I'd play nearly
the whole stack of whatever he brought in.  Somewhere in Rush's Moving
Pictures, I look up and he's standing right nearby - a smile beaming on his
face like I'd never seen before. Limelight comes on and he breaks out into
an *IN-CRED-I-BLE* air guitar solo - I'd never seen him enjoying himself so
much - like a big, friendly tiger lying in the sun.

It was the happiest I'd ever seen him - and it's how I'll always remember
him.

On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 9:02 AM CJ Brown via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org> wrote:

> Scott was the best.
>
> Except for that, I'm at a loss for words, and I'm very sad.  League won't
> be the same without him.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 8:49 AM Todd Yoder via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org>
> wrote:
>
>> That is very sad news.  Scott will be truly missed.
>>
>> He could solve any pinball problem and, once you could muster up the
>> courage to get past the gruff exterior, he was always willing to help out.
>> He was very intelligent, but didn’t throw that in your face, rather he
>> treated everyone as if they had the same aptitude for pinball repair and
>> electronics as he did, as he would explain in great detail how a particular
>> circuit worked, while almost all of it went well over my head.
>>
>> He came to my house on multiple occasions to help repair games prior to
>> events, and he was always fun to have around, offering his unfiltered
>> opinions about just about anything.  His opinions were set in stone, and he
>> would happily tell you why he was right (or why you were wrong) about
>> almost anything.  But he was a different person around kids and pets.
>> While over fixing games, he had dinner with my family several times, and he
>> could not have been more gracious around my wife and two young daughters,
>> displaying a kinder side that was not usually shown around the pinball
>> crowd.  The kids thought he was very nice and funny, and often asked when
>> Scott was coming over again.
>>
>> I always had difficulty paying him for his pinball repair services,
>> because he simply wouldn’t take any money!  He would just ask for gas
>> money.  I always told him that he was undervaluing his services, but he
>> wouldn’t hear it — he was truly in it for the love of the game and the
>> challenge of fixing a problem.  But I always forced some form of payment on
>> him for his time and expertise (and his car full of pinball parts!) that he
>> so graciously offered.  And when I found out that he liked Mexican Coca
>> Cola in bottles, I scored a bunch and started paying him with those in
>> addition to cash.  I still have some bottles, and will drink one in his
>> honor today.
>>
>> Here’s a story about Scott’s amazing troubleshooting abilities:  A friend
>> of mine had an issue with the lower playfield ball kicker on an AC/DC, and
>> I enlisted Scott to come take a look.  He came over and spent a couple of
>> hours testing, tracing, etc., but the problem persisted.  Ultimately he
>> concluded that it must be a problem in the game code.  To myself I figured
>> that was unlikely, and that here was the only time I had seen a problem
>> that Scott couldn’t fix.  But the next day, my friend contacted me to say
>> that he had updated the code and the problem was gone!  At that point I
>> truly realized how much Scott really understood pinball machines, and I
>> never doubted him again.
>>
>> The FSPA community owes Scott Sidley a great deal, more than we can ever
>> say.
>>
>> - Todd
>>
>> On Sat, Sep 5, 2020, at 7:39 AM, Mike F via FSPA wrote:
>>
>> Damn.  I’ll always remember Scott as one of the original fspa guys (along
>> with Bernie, joe,  Julie, Dave Stewart, lee, deb, Serg, etc), that I met
>> when I joined my first league at the old Vbh.  Loved him.  Was part of my
>> rekindled love for pinball during college (well.... that and the lineup at
>> howies).  Used to look forward to the “scottitude” as kosack put it, even
>> though it got under my skin once or twice lol.  Tends to happen with anyone
>> you know for over 20 years.
>>
>> He did a great job dialing in games at Kevin’s, robs, Vbh.  I admired him
>> for getting those games ready, only for them to be pummeled again by 40-80
>> of the mid-Atlantic’s finest.  The games played incredible at the last
>> states tourney at Vbh in 2019, and he did it all, even while battling
>> cancer.  I made sure to let him know that day, and other days, that his
>> hard work was appreciated... but especially that day at Vbh.
>>
>> I’ll miss you, Scott.  We lost a great talent in our community, and a
>> great friend.  Rest In Peace.
>>
>> Mike F
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Sep 5, 2020, at 6:45 AM, Joe Kosack via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> This really sucks.
>>
>> I remember meeting Scott for the first time in September 2008 as a wide
>> eyed newbie who had just found out that there was competitive pinball not
>> only in the world, but 20 minutes from my house.  Scott took it upon
>> himself to be the unofficial VBH welcome ambassador and showed me, Lee, and
>> Jude the ropes that night and made me feel right at home.
>>
>> When I eventually started to help run VBH league and then fully run it, I
>> could always count on Scott to provide helpful advice, encouragement when I
>> was down, and a little special Sottitude when I was smelling myself too
>> much.  I literally could not have been successful without Scott by my
>> side.  Hell, I couldn’t have ever tuna tournament without him.
>>
>> At major events, Scott was always a major cheerleader when one of our
>> players or alumni were doing well.  When I made my only run in the Pinburgh
>> A finals in 2015, Scott was there asking if he could get me anything to eat
>> or drink to keep me focused on the task at hand.
>>
>> Right now, I feel the same as when Scott wasn’t there for our last season
>> of VBH and a lot of us didn’t know what was going on yet, and that is
>> lost.  For those of us who played with Scott, he was a constant in our
>> league lives.  From Scott informing us that we’re putting the quarters in
>> wrong to telling us that he sucked after playing a twenty minute ball,
>> Scott could always be counted on.  Scott will be missed terribly my all of
>> us, and league pinball for me won’t be the same without him.
>>
>> Joe K
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Sep 5, 2020, at 6:18 AM, rw55dodgers--- via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Joe:
>>
>> Yes this is very sad news, I've only known him since early 2012 when I
>> started to play for FSPA and he started to work on my machines that summer
>> that have't been played on for 15-20 years.  He got 4 of 5 working great
>> and they are still being played on today.  Yes he was always checking with
>> me about my machines before any tournament, league party or personal
>> function and was always there to check things out.  Whenever I got a new
>> machine he was always here to check it out and fix any issues.  It was
>> always nice having him over as he got to know part of my family as he
>> worked on my machines.
>>
>> He will be missed by all, RIP Scott Sidley.
>>
>> Rob T
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Joe Schober via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org>
>> To: FSPA main discussion list <fspa at fspazone.org>
>> Cc: Joe Schober <afljoeys at aol.com>
>> Sent: Sat, Sep 5, 2020 12:08 am
>> Subject: [FSPA] Scott Sidley
>>
>>
>> I am heartbroken to say that Scott Sidley has passed away.  As most of
>> you know, he's been battling cancer for a couple years.  Things were
>> improving for awhile, until they weren't.
>>
>> For me, Scott isn't just a guy at pinball... we've been friends for
>> almost 35 years.  He was incredibly intelligent, creative, and generous
>> with his time and talents.  I have so many great memories with him...
>> creating projects, playing games, roller coaster madness, so much more.
>> Despite his gruff exterior sometimes, he could be very caring and
>> supportive.
>>
>> For our pinball community, Scott has been involved with the FSPA more
>> than anyone since its beginning.  He has done everything from helping run
>> several of our leagues, managing scorekeeping, fixing machines everywhere,
>> and on and on.  He could always be counted on to help tune up games for
>> parties and tournaments, and on the day of an event, he would often be the
>> first person there, helping to set things up, and the last one to leave,
>> cleaning everything.  And I don't think anyone will know how to put
>> quarters into the games correctly without Scott around.
>>
>> I love Scott dearly, and already miss him very, very much.
>>
>> Please, y'all stay safe and healthy.
>>
>> --Joe
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